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How to build MEVIUS

12-DoF four-legged robot dog · Expert

MEVIUS is the JSK lab's 12-DoF quadruped, made from sheet-metal and machined parts ordered online plus AK70-10 motors. Parts list totals about $12,390.

Start the buildProject files
Difficulty
Expert

Research-grade: machining, motor drivers and control theory.

Build time
3+ months (lab-grade)

Our estimate, part-time

Parts cost
$12,390

$12,390 total from the MEVIUS parts list (converted to USD by the authors)

Degrees of freedom
12

MIT

What is MEVIUS?

MEVIUS, from the JSK lab at the University of Tokyo, was designed so a lab could order every part online. The welded sheet-metal and machined frame parts come from MISUMI meviy, and the rest is off the shelf.

Each leg has three CubeMars AK70-10 quasi-direct-drive motors running in MIT mode over CAN, for 12 DoF. An Intel NUC is the onboard computer.

The repo ships the URDF, meshes, a MuJoCo scene, a trained walking policy and the ROS control stack. The mechanical CAD is on Google Drive. The paper appeared at Humanoids 2024.

MEVIUS specifications

DoF
12
Actuators
CubeMars AK70-10 (MIT mode, CAN)
Compute
Intel NUC12WSKi7
Power
2× 6S 3300 mAh (motors), 3S 6000 mAh (logic)

Figures as published by the project. See Sources below.

Bill of materials

PartQtyNotes
CubeMars AK70-1012$498 each in the parts list
ESD CAN-USB/21
RUBIK LINK V2.01Only for switching motors to MIT mode
Intel NUC12WSKi71
Intel RealSense T2651Discontinued
MISUMI meviy sheet-metal and machined parts—Ordered from the CAD
Where's the full bill of materials?

The full BOM, with exact quantities and vendors, lives in the project's own files. Prices change often, so treat $12,390 as a ballpark from the project. Start at the project repository.

Tools you'll need

  • Metric hex set
  • USB-CAN interface
  • Linux PC with ROS

Step-by-step build overview

Electronics & wiring overview

The motors share CAN through an ESD CAN-USB/2 adapter on the NUC. Two 6S packs in series power the motor bus, and a separate 3S pack runs the logic.

LiPo batterypower sourceLaptop / PChigh-level controlRealSense depth camer…sensingMicrocontrollerreal-time controllerMotor driverdrivers / busMotors12 joints / motors
PowerData / commandsSensor feedbackOverview only. Follow the project's own schematic for pinouts and voltages.

Software

MuJoCoURDF model

MIT-licensed ROS control, URDF/MuJoCo models and a pretrained RL policy are in haraduka/mevius.

Tips from the bench

  • ☕ The T265 is discontinued, so plan another odometry source.
  • ☕ Check meviy quotes early, because metal lead times set the schedule.

MEVIUS FAQ

How much does MEVIUS cost?

The authors' parts list totals about $12,390.

What motors does it use?

Twelve CubeMars AK70-10s in MIT mode.

Sources

Written by Bots n' Beans from the project's own documentation. Check the sources for the latest revision before you buy parts.

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